Kaskis is the first Michelin restaurant in Turku

Restaurant Kaskis made history when it received Finland’s first Michelin star outside of Helsinki. One of the Nordic Michelin stars can now be found in Turku.

Chef Erik Mansikka has already had time to immortalize the Michelin star on his skin. Mansika’s idea was to tattoo a pattern on her finger.

Too small, the tattoo artist had said, and now a Michelin star adorns Mansika’s chest.

– I had carefully asked my regular tattooist for free time a week before the announcement, but I was too late on the move. When the information came, the tattoo artist sent a message that same night to come visit us as soon as you can.

Mansikka first thought the Michelin star was a dream when he saw the name Kaskis on the stage of the Stravaga concert hall.

– I am still in shock that what has been done here. Simon and I will sit down next week and the first thing we will do is plan the summer menu, Mansikka laughs at the big plans.

Simo Raisio is one of the founders of the Kaskis restaurant.

The restaurant will open after the summer break in August, when the number of customers will only become concrete. A blocked e-mail may portend the interest of Finns. The city of Turku also sent its thanks to Mansika and Raisio.

– Their e-mail was also completely blocked. The city thanked us for cheering up Turku.

From vocational school to Aremo’s lessons

Strawberry has always been interested in food. When I was younger, mostly eating it, but in junior high school, household chores awakened new feelings in the teenager. Mansikka was otherwise not interested in school, but she was looking forward to the home economics classes.

Mansikka applied to the Turku vocational school and was able to study at a cooking school. At that point, a deep passion for the industry had already been ignited and it was no longer just a hobby. At the cooking school, dreams and career goals developed in Mansika’s mind, which were ambitious.

Mansikka went directly from the vocational school to the Helsinki restaurant George, which Markus Aremon management was known as a prestigious Michelin star restaurant in 2004–2006.

– That’s where I learned everything, Mansikka recalls with a laugh, – I wonder every day what I had really gotten myself into.

Simo Raisio studied at the same Turku cooking school. Raisio went abroad and Mansikka toured cooking competitions. When the paths met again in 2014, Kaskis was born.

The men’s dream of having their own restaurant had come true.

Handmade plates, self-picked wild herbs

The dream of a Michelin star was not yet clear when the restaurant was founded.

– But it has always been a dream. Such an idea that it would be great to get a Michelin star.

In 2016, Mansikka and Raisio changed the concept of the restaurant and only one menu was offered in Kaskis. After the À la carte list was removed, the pursuit of a Michelin star was more realistic, but the reason for the concept change was different.

– We wanted to get the loss to zero. When we had a menu, we always knew exactly how many pieces of meat or fish we would need every day.

Sustainability, responsibility and local food are reflected in the Kaskis restaurant’s food philosophy. However, Mansikka laughs when you ask him about food philosophy.

– We’ve been doing this with Simon for nine years, and we still can’t answer that question.

However, the most important thing for them is that all raw materials come as close as possible. Mansikka and Raisio go to pick wild herbs and flowers themselves. The interior also breathes the same local food aesthetic. Dried flowers and herbs can be found on the walls and vases of the restaurant.

– Wine, coffee and lemons come from abroad. Otherwise, we are careful that everything comes close.

The plates for the food portions are made by hand almost in the neighboring municipality, Kustavi. Mansikka has been driving a few of them himself. The chef always has a bunch of plans with him when he arrives at Kustav’s clay workshop.

– Once I wanted flower pots. I was told to try making one myself. I stayed there for a couple of hours to work alone and as a result several pots were waiting on the shelf.

Kustavi x Mansikka was marked on the bottom. The pots intended for table flowers are also currently in the restaurant.

– Pots have also disappeared. They haven’t broken, but we counted them once and a couple are missing. Does anyone have them at home as souvenirs?

Kaskis water glasses are also made by themselves. George restaurant chef Markus Aremo later trained as a glassblower and made water glasses for Kaskis from old Sandels bottles.

Something about Kaskis’ values ​​and food philosophy is also said by the fact that the restaurant has also served a vegan 6th course menu since the first day.

– When we started, it was quite rare.

According to the customers’ wishes, the menu can also be vegetarian, or the menu can be ordered without red meat, for example. When planning menus and flavor pairings, Mansikka and Raisio always think about their functionality even without meat.

– The vegan menu has received a lot of praise. Once, one party promised to tell everyone about it, and over the next two weeks we had a lot of vegans.

Allergies and dietary requirements are asked at the time of booking. In addition, the restaurant will be called the day before the reservation, and allergies will be confirmed. This is how we want to minimize wastage.

However, vegan options have not always arisen by themselves. Especially at first, vegan desserts were a headache.

– I wanted to make a vegan version of the German tree cake (baumkuchen). At least the first ten ended up straight in the trash before I finally managed to replicate the original cake.

Today, even vegan desserts are successful, because, according to Mansika, better ingredients are available. Even the gluten-free versions are sometimes even better than the ones made from wheat.

A proud citizen of Turku

At no point did Mansika and Raisio have in mind to establish a restaurant in Helsinki, but Turku always felt like the right place.

According to Mansika, Turku’s food and restaurant culture is strong. New privately owned restaurants are popping up on the street scene at an accelerating pace.

– Getting a Michelin star here is probably as difficult, if not more difficult, than in Helsinki.

When Korona landed in Finland in 2020, an extensive renovation began at the Kaskis restaurant. With that, the star hunt also began, which ended happily two years later.

The purpose of the Kaskis restaurant is, above all, to create an experience for customers.

– The whole show lasts at least three hours. Sometimes customers wonder where the time has gone.

Before, the restaurant had several sets per day, but they were abandoned. Now customers can sit for up to five hours if they want, enjoying the menu without rushing. Experiments also have more time to talk with customers.

– The chef always brings the dish to the table and tells what is on the plate.

Mansikka is proud that a Michelin star just came to Turku.

– We are from Turku, after all. We made the impossible possible.